“Food is not perfect. What we do in our kitchens, it has so many moving parts. The wine. The lights. The music. The chefs. The service. A million things can go wrong. And that’s why it has to be said that our success is not about Brian Malarkey. It’s about Team Malarkey.”

That’s a peculiar opening for “Come Early, Stay Late,” a cookbook with 210+ pages detailing how to construct bacon and chive waffles. And whiskey-braised pork with grilled peaches and baconnaise. And a Peter Rabbit cocktail.

Then again, this opening dedication comes from the kitchen iconoclast Brian Malarkey, a guy who eclipsed his “Top Chef” 2007 near-win by custom-making five fabric restaurants for San Diego County. (Dubbed The Fabric of Social Dining Restaurant Group, which includes a Searsucker in Scottsdale, AZ.)

Mostly he’s made good on not being too formal about food.

The social dining cookbook: Malarkey's “Food is not perfect” sets you up for what’s coming in “Come Early, Stay Late” ($29.95; Chefs Press Inc.) -- a collection of food-and-cocktail core recipes from his Searsucker, Burlap, Gingham, Gabardine and Herringbone restaurants.

Billed as five cookbooks in one, and designed kind of like a scrapbook --with Team Malarkey in playful behind-the-scenes pictures alongside photographer Mike Pawlenty’s food porn-- the cookbook's tone matches Malarkey's lounge-and-eat dens, where the social aspect to a night out is the whole point of dining.

“Food is not the most important part of eating.” Malarkey goes on to say later in “Come Early, Stay Late,” which will be released sometime this month. He doesn’t care about building food towers and adding microgreens with tweezers, he says.

Malarkey on ABC's 'The Taste'

Brian Malarkey landed a huge role for an upcoming food show on ABC, called "The Taste," and featuring celeb-chefs Anthony Bourdain, Nigella Lawson and Ludo Lefebvre. Read more about the show, click here.

Foodies, wait a second. Before you descend on a made chef who, along with “business-boy-genius” James Brennan (the cookbook calls him that), sewed a fabric empire in less than two years, hear him out:

“I care about food that — when you put it in your mouth — you say “Wow! That tastes great!” So my advice: don’t try to get elegant with the fried oysters, dude! Don’t arrange them! Just toss them! Toss ‘em in BBQ sauce and make ‘em dirty! Make them taste great and that will make them fun. That’s my style. As a chef, my main job is to facilitate your good time — the party.”

This is a “Yeah, let’s party!” cookbook --and that’s an actual quote you’ll find in this cookbook.

In “Come Early, Stay Late" you’ll also find: Tips on breaking down lobster; Malarkey memoir/lore -- but only two "Top Chef" mentions; progressive cocktails from Picks and Rocks mixologists that aren’t just “big, syrupy sweet bombs”; sea salt blondies and berry pie bars made by pastry chef Rachel King; a seafood stew whose ingredients you’ll be hunting all day for; curse words; pull quotes in cursive, to emphasize the informality of this cookbook; beauty pictures of food, of Malarkey holding plates of food, and kitchen personalities showcased in shots best described as “Fun workplace!” or “Order up! Can I get a runner, please?!”

The verdict: Having “Come Early, Stay Late” is like looking at the secret playbook of some successful NFL team. (It decodes cryptically named dishes that each fabric restaurant gigglingly presents.)

The cookbook also serves as the best produced, full-color, picture menu ever. Thumb through it and you’ll want to visit Gabardine for some grilled sirloin with blue cheese, mashed potatoes, peppercorns and fried onions. Or Burlap for Spam fried rice. Or Herringbone for that seafood stew. Or Gingham for shrimp and oxtail grits. Or Searsucker for a best-seller like the french toast with mushrooms and burrata.